While many people could use a little guidance and help with some areas of their finances, as people age, it often becomes more and more necessary for someone to step in and give assistance with the managing of all aspects of a person’s personal finances. However, having this conversation and then giving this help consistently can get tricky if you’re not careful.
To help you in navigating these waters, here are three tips for helping an elderly loved one manage their finances.
Help Them Maintain Their Independence
If your loved one has gotten to the point where they can’t live on their own and are now in an assisted living facility situation, there’s a good chance that they’re going to need help with their finances as well. But even before this point, having another set of eyes on things can be beneficial.
To make this transition easier, you should try to help your loved one maintain as much of their independence as they’re able to at this juncture. According to Valerie Keene, a contributor to Nolo.com, the main reason why many elderly people are afraid to let people help them is because they want to maintain control over their lives, including with their finances. But if you can ensure that they’ll still be in control of their finances with your assistance, giving them the help they need may be an easier sell.
Make Sure You Can Legally Help
While offering help here and there with financial problems is fine, if you’re going to need to take a more involved role in assisting your loved one, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re legally in the right position to do so.
What this means, according to DailyCaring.com, is getting all the legal paperwork in place so that you are on their financial accounts as well as potentially getting Power of Attorney for them. You’ll likely need help from a lawyer to make sure you go about this the right way and get everything done that is needed.
Keep Meticulous Records Of Spending
Once you start helping with your loved ones finances, AARP.org shares that you’re going to want to keep detailed records of the spending that you do with and for your loved one. In the event that someone in the family has questions about how things are being handled, either before or after death, you’ll want to be able to prove what money was spent where in order to keep any legal issues at bay.
If you have a loved one who’s in need of some help managing their finances, consider using the tips mentioned above to help them with this area of their life.